Decalcomania paper



Dec. 6, 1938. L. bAVI Re. 20,936

DECALC-OMANIA PAPER Original Filed May 51, 1934 v IN l/EN TOR Q n rATToR/v K Reissued Dec. 6, 1938 "UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEDECALCOMANIA PAPER, Lewis Davis, Worcester, Mass, assignor toMcLaurin-Jones (30., Brookfield, Mass, a corporation of MassachusettsOriginal No. 2,023,803,- dated December 10, 1935,

Serial No. 728,234, May 31 1934.

Application for reissue December 8, 1937, Serial No. 178,834

11 Claims. (01. 41-33 This invention relates to decalcomanias and to thepapers on which dec'al'comania designs are printed. v

In applying such designs to some articles of work, especially woodveneers, the use of the necessary quantity of water required to separatethe backing sheet from the decalcomania film is highly objectionablebecause it tends to warp the veneer and makes it diflicuIt to properlyregister or abut the edges of adjoining sheets. If, in

addition, the veneer is to be applied to a wood or other absorbent bodyorcore, which usually is the case, the application of water is stillmore objectionable. While this difficulty is not particularly seriouswhen the decalcomania design is to cover only a small portion of thework, it is an important factor in applying such designs to the entiresurface of a veneer sheet, or other absorbent body.

The present invention deals with this problem and aims to devise athoroughly practical solution for it.

The nature of the invention will be readily understood from thefollowing description when read in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in theappended claims.

In the drawing, i Figure 1 is a perspective view of a' decalcom-aniapaper embodying features of this invention; and Fig. 2 is a vertical,sectional view through the sheet shown in Fig. 1;

The product shown in the drawing comprises a' backing sheet A of papercarrying on one face thereof three superposed coats of water resistantmaterial, the respective coatings being designated at I, 2 and 3. Theflrst'and third of these coats may conveniently be of essentiallythesame-composition and both soluble in some non-aqueous liquid. Theintermediate coat 2, however, should resistant to the solvent for theother two. coats. In other words, it is important that each of thesecoating materials be readily soluble in a solvent to which the other ishighly resistant. From a cost standpoint it is desirable also that thesolvents which must be used in practice berelatively inexpensive.

-I have foundthat these requirements can'be satisfactorily met by makingthe first and third coats of the synthetic resin known commercially ascumar, and the intermediate coat {of gum sandarac. Diluents may be usedwith either constituent.

mixture of para-coumarone;' para-indene; and

the polymers of'other hydrocarbons found in coal tar. It is a'neutralresin produced from coal be composed of some substance which is highly.

Cumar. is known chemically as a coumarone-indene resin and may bedefined as'a variety of common solvents such as gasolene and otherpetroleum dis'tillates, ethyl and amyl acetates, carbon tetra-chloride,and others. It is,

'however, insoluble in either alcohol or ether; Gum sandarac issubstantially unaffected by the solvents above mentioned for cumar, butis readily soluble in ethyl alcohol methyl alcohol, amyl alcohol, andether. Consequently, these resinous substances satisfy the presentrequirementsr In preparing the coating materials for application to thebacking sheet, .it should be borne in mind that the outer coating 3 mustbe very flat, smooth, and free from imperfections since the decalcomaniadesign will be printed on this surface. For this reason it is desirableto associate suitable plasticizers with the cumar resin and the solventsfor it in order to produce a coating of the desired smoothness. Sincethe least expensive of the solvents for the cumar consists of apetroleum distillate, it is preferable to use this material.Assumingthat in the final product each cumar coat is toweigh four poundsto the ream, with sheets 20x 24 inches, a suitable composition may becomposed of thefollowing in- Of these constituents the chief solvent isthe troluoil which is a petroleum distillate having a boiling range offrom about 99 to 116 C. 1 Other petroleum fractions, however, can besubstituted for it. The ethyl acetate is a solvent aid. The

dibutyl phthalate is a plasticizer, and the butyl cellosolve (ethyleneglycolmonobutyl ether) performs similar functions, acting as a levelingagent.

This composition produces a very smooth satisfactory coating suitablefor both the first and last coats I and 3.

For the intermediate coat 2 a solution of gum sandarac alone in,denatured alcohol can be used. 1

to reduce .the quantity of gum sandarac used by some suitable diluentsuch as rosin (colophony). shellac, or the like.- A composition suitableto go lug:

Grams Gum sandarac 778 Rosin e 103s Denatured alcohol (Formula #5) 910I'n the pro es of manufacture either-a sized paper or a absorbent sheetsuch as that commonly used heretofore in the manufacture of decalcomaniapaper,.may be used for the backing sheet ,A; The coat I of cumarprepared in the manner above described is applied to the surface withthat'above described consists of the follow-' However, it is preferablefrom a cost standpointv of this backing sheet and, when this coating hasdried suflici'ently, the second coat 2 of rosin sandarac mixture isapplied, the final coat of cumar being superposed on the intermediatecoat 2 after the latter has dried. The paper so prepared is shipped tothe decalcomania manufacturer who prints. his design on the surface ofthe outer coat 3. The decalcomania so produced may be of the ordinarytransfer variety or of the socalled slide 011" type. In either event itis freed from the backing sheet 2 during the application of the designto the work by applying a solvent such as ordinary gasolene, toluol,troluoil, or the like,.to the backing sheet, thus softening the innercoat I of cumar, and permitting the backing sheet to be pulled off.During this operation the intermediate coat 2 of rosin sandarac mixtureprotects the outer coat and the design printed on it from the action ofthe solvent.

In some cases the innermost coat I of cumar can be omitted, the coat ofrosin sandarac mix v coat 2 is somewhat spongy and porous in characterand it may be penetrated by portions of the upper coat during theapplication of the latterand produce a staining of the backing sheetwhich would be objectionable from the standpoint of saleability oi thegoods.

In making the cumar composition it is preferable to use the hardestgradeof this resin, especially for the outer coat, and tomake a solutionof a fairlyhigh concentration, say at least Other gums, such as estergum, can be used instead of part or all of the cumar resin, although Ihave not found it as satisfactory as the latter. By ester gum I mean thecompound which also goes under the names of rosin ester or glycerinatedrosin'. Araclor resin can also be used to supplant a part of the cumar.This resin consists of chlorinated diphenyl and other chlorinateddiaryls. While, as above stated, I prefer to use gum sandarac as thechief constituent of the intermediate coat, other gums soluble inalcohol can be substituted for it, such for example, 'as

' dewaxed dammar gum. I havefound nothing,

however, as satisfactory for this purpose as gum sandarac.

An important advantage of the product above described is that theoutermost cumar coat is not substantially aflected by the more commonsolvents used in the inks with which the decalEomania designs areprinted on this surface. Also, it is a commonpractice to apply a coatingof clear lacquer over the decalcomania design, and the cumar resin coatis highly resistant to the solvents commonly used in these lacquers. Insome cases, however, an ink may be used which, from a chemical point ofview, is really a varnish or paint, and includes a vegetable oil or someother constituent which does attack the cumar coat. Inks of this type,however, are practically insoluble in alcohol. Consequently, when suchan ink is to be used it is preferable to prepare a decalcomania paperespecially for them which .wiil be exactly like that above describedexcept that the coats will be reversed. In other words the first andthird coats will consist of the gum sandarac rosin mixture while theintermediate coat 2 will have cumar, or its equivalent, as its essentialconstituent. y

In app y ng decalcomanias of this typeto veneer and other waterabsorbing bodies, some absorption of the solvent may occur. butthesesolvents are so volatile that they evaporate rapidly and do not produceany warping oi the veneer.

Consequently, they completely avoid the objection above described to theuse of common forms of decalcomanias. As above stated, a considerablevariety of these volatile solvents of a. hydrocarbon nature areavailable at reasonable prices so that the expense involved in the useof such a solvent instead of water is not a serious practical objection.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to claim as new is: v

1. A decalcomania paper comprising, a suitable backing sheet, a waterresistant coating carried by said sheet to take decalcomaniaprinting,-'and a protective coating of resinous water resistant materialbetween the first mentioned coating and said sheet, said protectivecoating being substantially insoluble in a solvent which readilydissolves the other coating.

2. A decalcomania paper comprising a suitable backing sheet, a waterresistant resinous coating carried by said sheet to take decalcomaniaprinting, and an intermediate coating of resinous water resistantmaterial bonding the first coating to said backing sheet, each of saidcoatings being readily soluble in a solvent to which the other coatingis highly resistant.

3. A decalcomania paper comprising a suitable backing sheet and aplurality of water resistant resinous coatings on one face of said sheetin superposed relationship. The adjoining coatings being diflerentiallysoluble in non-aqueoussolvents.

4. A decalcomania paper comprising a suitable 'baicking sheet, and aplurality of coatings of water resistant resinous material in superposedrelationship on one'face of said sheet, each of said coatings beingsoluble in a solvent, to which theadjoining coating is highly resistant.

5. A decalcomania paper comprising a suitable backing sheet, a pluralityof coatings of water resistant material in superposed-relationship onone face of said sheet, the predominating constituent of one of saidcoatings being coumarone-indene' resin while the other consistsessentially or a mixture of gum sandarac and rosin.

6. A decalcomania paper comprising a suitable backing sheet, andthreewater resistant coat backing sheet and a water resistant coatingof, a

resinous nature carried by said sheet to take decalcomania printing,said coating being bonded to said sheet by a water resistant unionreleasable by a non-aqueous volatile solvent.

8. A decalcomania paper comprising a suitable backing sheet and a waterresistant coating carried by said sheet to take decalcomania printing,said coating being-highly resistant to the common solvents used inprinting inks and being bonded to said sheet by a water resistant unionreleasable by a non-aqueous solvent of a hydrocarbon nature.

9. A decalcomania paper comprising a suitable inks and being adhesivelyunited with said sheet backing sheet, a water resistant coating of aresinous nature carried by said sheet to take decalcomania printing,said coating being resistant to the common solvents used in printinginks, and a protective coating of water resistant material bonding saidresinous coating to said backing sheet, said resinous coating beingsubstantially insoluble in a solvent which readily dissolves theprotective coating.

10. A dacalccmania paper comprising a suit-'- able backing sheet and ahighly water resistant coating on one face of said sheet, a decalcomaniaprint on said coating, said coating 'being highly resistant to thecommon solvents used in printing said sheet by a water resistant unionreleasable bya non-aqueous solvent to which the print is highlyresistant. i

' LEWIS DAVIS.

